Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,200 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $11,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 45.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation in the first quarter worth $86,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 38.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.11.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $211.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $208.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.43. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 2.38%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.